Whew.

How about a quick(ish) round-up of what we've been up to around here?

The month started off with a quick trip to Denver to see family, and Erik and Zach caught the Foo Fighters show at Red Rocks. Sweet.
We've enjoyed lots of Daddy and Reid time, which always produces cute pictures, so you'll see more of this adorableness. Reid loves to be wherever Erik is.

Here's Reid enjoying my rad birthday present. With weather as perfect as this, I was in the mood for a hammock. Now, I just need to deliver these babies so I'm able to get in and out of it gracefully. For now, imagine the agility of a giant sea turtle trying to get in and out.
Erik decorating my birthday cake. He was so great, and said "hey babe, I want to make you a cake for your birthday." What a lovely idea, I thought. It would have been perfect, he would have made a rainbow chip cake with rainbow chip frosting (my birthday cake of choice) and it would have been delightful. Then I got the bright idea to make a "fancy" cake, a Martha cake. Bad, bad idea. I got the recipe for the cake and buttercream frosting from this gorgeous book, and the decoration idea from a Martha book. First problem was that I didn't realize that I don't like buttercream frosting. Why? Because it tastes like you're eating butter. Gross. Second problem was that the cake was more like a not-sweet-enough-pound-cake. So, basically like bread. Gross. After we realized that the first book's frosting was so gross, I made the Swiss meringue buttercream frosting from the Martha book. If the first one was a 2 out of 10, the Martha one was a 3. Not worth it. So...all of this work (I wimped out and only made one layer because it took so dang long for the first one and I didn't want to do it all over again) for a really gross cake. Erik and I made it through half a piece each, and then threw the rest away.

However, our cake decorating skills are improved through the experience, and I love Erik all the more for putting up with a crazy wife who takes a great idea and blows it up into something ridiculous. That's two things I'm VERY good at: the ridiculous, and achieving minimum results from maximum effort. Next year I'm going to sit back and enjoy my rainbow chip. Oh, and if you want to read an awesome post about how awesome I apparently am, check this out. (If you're interested in the stories she vaguely refers to, ask me about them. They're gems. Oh, and that picture shows me rocking the bangs. I flip-flop nearly every day about if I like bangs or not. Should we take a vote? That might help me.)

Reid is learning body parts, as in "Reid where are your feet...ears...fingers? Etc. This is the response to "Where are your teeth?"

We spent an afternoon in Solvang, a cute touristy town, for Danish Days. Reid loves beans. Of any kind. When I make chili, he shovels it in. This time, however, when he was done with dinner he decided he'd clean off his hands by wiping them all over his face. I guess the chili powder caused a reaction on his skin because his face got so red! It was crazy. So we rushed him to the tub, got a quick picture, and then washed him up.
Reid is really into playing with shoes. Anyone's shoes. Today it was mom's shoes.
When I squat down to get a picture, this is what happens.
Fun at the beach. We're still working on teaching Reid not to put his face in the sand to taste it.
Reid and dad digging a hole.

Deeper.
Then we thought it would be funny to bury my legs in it. It actually was really funny, and for those of you asking for belly shots, here you go. Not great, but I'm not feeling very photogenic lately.
Reid playing with dad's gloves. Old uniform stuff makes for great paintballing attire.
On this day, it was dad's shoes that intrigued him.

Reid and dad watching cartoons.
Erik cut up a box (from our sweet new double stroller) into a little house. Reid would walk in, peep his head out the window, and then SQUEAL with delight. I couldn't get enough of it.
Playing with dad's motorcycle helmet.
Playing with his new bucket for the beach.
As you can tell, Reid's pretty easy to please. Just give him something that's not really a toy and he'll have a good time. Throw in time some with daddy and it just upgraded to a GREAT time. I'm 28 and a half weeks along, making the countdown only about 8 weeks until these babies come. I'm feeling very large. I'm bigger now than I got with Reid when I delivered, so it's going to be a long 8 weeks. We're still working on names, but other than that I'm feeling calm (well, calm enough) about the impending changes. Look for another post in the next few days about my thoughts as to all that's going on in the world outside of our little family of three (...five).

A lesson in leadership

When we lived in Alaska, there was this really amazing family that lived near us and they were in our ward.  Tanya, the mom, was the kind of woman I knew I could call on for anything I needed, she was always very kind and supportive to me.  I can't tell you how many times since we've left that I've said to Erik, "dang it, I wish we had spent more time with the Murphys, I really liked them."  Almost 2 years ago, their son was killed in active duty, and it had a big impact on me personally, and certainly on the ward family and the base family.  Mark Murphy, the dad, wrote this for the base newspaper recently, but it's been passed around quite a bit in the last month because Erik received it from someone in Iraq as a forward, and it had been forwarded many times already.  It's worth reading, I promise.  As I read it, my eyes started tearing up, creating wells, until the dam burst and I cried for a good while.  I'm weepy now as I write this.  So give it a read, and then I'll comment on it at the end.

Commentary by Lt. Col. Mark Murphy
354th Maintenance Group deputy commander

8/15/2008 - EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska -- I learned a big lesson on
service Aug. 4, 2008, when Eielson had the rare honor of hosting
President Bush on a refueling stop as he traveled to Asia.

It was an event Eielson will never forget -- a hangar full of Airmen and
Soldiers getting to see the Commander in Chief up close, and perhaps
even shaking his hand. An incredible amount of effort goes into
presidential travel because of all of the logistics, security, protocol,
etc ... so it was remarkable to see Air Force One land at Eielson on
time at precisely 4:30 p.m.--however, when he left less than two hours
later, the President was 15 minutes behind schedule.

That's a big slip for something so tightly choreographed, but very few
people know why it happened. Here's why.

On Dec. 10, 2006, our son, Shawn, was a paratrooper deployed on the
outskirts of Baghdad. He was supposed to spend the night in camp, but
when a fellow soldier became ill Shawn volunteered to take his place on
a nighttime patrol--in the convoy's most exposed position as turret
gunner in the lead Humvee. He was killed instantly with two other
soldiers when an IED ripped through their vehicle.

I was thinking about that as my family and I sat in the audience
listening to the President's speech, looking at the turret on the
up-armored Humvee the explosive ordnance disposal flight had put at the
edge of the stage as a static display.

When the speech was over and the President was working the crowd line, I
felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see a White House staff member.
She asked me and my wife to come with her, because the President wanted
to meet us.

Stunned, we grabbed our two sons that were with us and followed her back
into a conference room. It was a shock to go from a crowded, noisy
hangar, past all of those security people, to find ourselves suddenly
alone in a quiet room.

The only thing we could hear was a cell phone vibrating, and noticed
that it was coming from the jacket Senator Stevens left on a chair. We
didn't answer.

A short time later, the Secret Service opened the door and President
Bush walked in. I thought we might get to shake his hand as he went
through. But instead, he walked up to my wife with his arms wide, pulled
her in for a hug and a kiss, and said, "I wish I could heal the hole in
your heart." He then grabbed me for a hug, as well as each of our sons.
Then he turned and said, "Everybody out."

A few seconds later, the four of us were completely alone behind closed
doors with the President of the United States and not a Secret Service
agent in sight.
He said, "Come on, let's sit down and talk." He pulled up a chair at the
side of the room, and we sat down next to him. He looked a little tired
from his trip, and he noticed that his shoes were scuffed up from
leaning over concrete barriers to shake hands and pose for photos. He
slumped down the chair, completely relaxed, smiled, and suddenly was no
longer the President - he was just a guy with a job, sitting around
talking with us like a family member at a barbeque.

For the next 15 or 20 minutes, he talked with us about our son, Iraq,
his family, faith, convictions, and shared his feelings about nearing
the end of his presidency. He asked each of our teenaged sons what they
wanted to do in life and counseled them to set goals, stick to their
convictions, and not worry about being the "cool" guy.

He said that he'd taken a lot of heat during his tenure and was under a
lot of pressure to do what's politically expedient, but was proud to say
that he never sold his soul. Sometimes he laughed, and at others he
teared up. He said that what he'll miss most after leaving office will
be his role as Commander in Chief.
One of the somber moments was when he thanked us for the opportunity to
meet, because he feels a heavy responsibility knowing that our son died
because of a decision he made. He was incredibly humble, full of warmth,
and completely without pretense. We were seeing the man his family sees.

We couldn't believe how long he was talking to us, but he seemed to be
in no hurry whatsoever. In the end, he thanked us again for the visit
and for the opportunity to get off his feet for a few minutes. He then
said, "Let's get some pictures." The doors flew open, Secret Service and
the White House photographer came in, and suddenly he was the President
again. We posed for individual pictures as he gave each of us one of his
coins, and then he posed for family pictures. A few more thank yous, a
few more hugs, and he was gone.

The remarkable thing about the whole event was that he didn't have to
see us at all. If he wanted to do more, he could've just given a quick
handshake and said, "Thanks for your sacrifice." But he didn't - he put
everything and everyone in his life on hold to meet privately with the
family of a Private First Class who gave his life in the service of his
country.

What an incredible lesson on service. If the President of the United
States is willing to drop everything on his plate to visit with a
family, surely the rest of us can do it. No one is above serving another
person, and no one is so lofty that he or she can't treat others with
dignity and respect.

We often think of service in terms of sacrificing ourselves for someone
in a position above us, but how often do we remember that serving
someone below us can be much more important? If you're in a leadership
capacity, take a good look at how you're treating your people, and
remember that your role involves serving the people you rely on every
day.

I've thought about this for the past few days since I read it the first time.  With the current political scene, we're told so often about what to think about President Bush and our country's efforts in the Middle East.  As his presidency nears a close, I feel very grateful for a leader who does what he believes to be right, no matter what.  He has certainly been criticized a great deal, but I wholeheartedly believe that he understands the full weight of his decisions and I respect him for taking the hard road.  Many parts of Lt. Col. Murphy's story show me that President Bush is simply not the man that the media portrays him to be.  The fact that he took the time to sit down with the Murphy family is really touching, but what touched me the most was the sincerity that the family felt.  I would guess that President Bush, in his travels, meets with many families of fallen soldiers to offer his gratitude and condolences.  The conversation that he had with the Murphys is likely a conversation that he has had hundreds of times.  But for the family to sense authenticity, sincerity, and know that he genuinely sorrowed because of their loss...amazes me.  I don't know what the rest of the U.S. will see as President Bush's legacy, but I am proud to say that, for me, his legacy will be of a leader that had that courage and integrity to make what he believed to be the right decision.  No matter how unpopular, or what criticism would come, or how his image would suffer.  That kind of leadership is hard to find, it seems like, and it makes me think a lot about the upcoming election and how different our two candidates are. I would take substance over style any day.

In Memoriam

Last weekend we purchased a rad new Toyota Sienna (room for all our babies!), and while I love it, I didn't feel right about posting pictures and news about it until I properly honored my old car, my wonderful little Subaru. And then...last night we got an email from Celine, the girl that bought the Subaru from us. Erik had emailed her to say that we found the spare key as we were unpacking and that we could mail it to her if she wanted it. She sent us an email back saying that with all the rain they've been getting in Fairbanks this summer, one day she woke up to this:
My poor little Subaru! When Erik was at the computer reading his email, he called me over to tell me the bad news. I sat down on his lap and he was like, "now, I know that this may be hard to see, but it's done now and we had 3 good years with it." Isn't that cute? He knows how much I loved that beautiful little Subaru.
If you wouldn't mind having a little moment of silence for the car...
...
...
...
...
Thank you. It was a good car for us, and just the right size. I'll need a period of mourning before I can officially introduce you all to the new car. Thank you for your understanding.
Oh, and I guess the one to really feel bad for is poor Celine. She had that car for a month before it met its untimely death. That's a bummer. You know, when I was working at Dr. Sonderer's office, we had a lot of senior patients. If one spouse died, usually the other spouse died within a year. Even if they were healthy, they just sort of gave up. Maybe that's how the Subaru felt. It missed me and just sort of gave up without me. That's really tender, actually.
Although still a bummer for Celine.

Smee

I have this awesome pair of jersey knit gauchos that I got at Old Navy for like $1.99. They are crazy-comfortable, and ugly as sin. When I was pregnant with Reid I would wear them around the house (just TOO ugly to be seen in public, even just to go to the mailbox) until one day I wore them with a striped shirt on top and I got a bad feeling that I looked a little too similar to Smee here. Well, chubby little pirate sidekick or not, today I am again wearing my hideous gauchos. I think I'm heading into the territory where comfort reigns above all else. So sad.

Out of order

The following pictures are not exactly in perfect order, but then again, that's a pretty good description for life lately. Things are good, and starting to feel a little more settled, but still a little crazy. Here are some highlights:
Heck ya. That would be us at the beach, the beach that is like 10 minutes from our house. It's a nice, mellow, relaxing beach. The temperature doesn't reach more than 75 around here, so the beach isn't quite like a San Diego beach or anything (thank goodness), it's just really beautiful and foggy and peaceful. There's always a nice breeze (thus, the crazy hair you see above), but it's so pleasant. Just about heaven. (I've had some requests for shots of the belly, and I don't really think you know what you're asking for, but here's one... sort of. I'm 23 weeks now, and these babies are picking up speed and getting bigger by the hour, or so it feels. But they are healthy and developing well, and I'm still feeling pretty decent, so...so far, so good.)
I think we have ourselves a little beach baby.
He loved playing in the sand. He was crawling all over, rolling around in it, sitting, on all fours, digging with his hands, digging with his feet...he LOVED it.
Erik's parents were able to visit us for a weekend, and we were so grateful to have the company, and the help! (We are the new owners of a sweet Toyota Sienna, but it seemed like we were at the dealership for forever! I don't know what we would have done without the help! More details to come.)

Again, these aren't in order, but this is from a fun family dinner in Midway a few weeks ago. Reid shares my excitement about being able to get good mexican food now that we're in the lower 48.
Unpacking. It was so fun watching Reid get so excited about all of his old toys. Since he hadn't seen them in a month, it was like they were brand new. And a box to play in? Life is good.

This is what our place looked like for a good week straight. Our packers did an excellent job wrapping things. So much so that we were swimming in paper. We're renting the home we're living in now so we can have some time to figure out where we want to buy, so we're keeping all the paper and boxes to move ourselves again in a few months. I should take a picture of what things look like now, because every one of those papers has been laid flat an put in a nice pile, ready to use again when we move. Oh, and check out the clothes laid out on the couch. When we moved in we realized a problem. Our dryer is electric, and the hook-up is for gas. We ended up going to Home Depot and picking up an inexpensive gas dryer, but for a week or two we were using other means.
Reid and Grandpa Olsen playing at the beach.

This is from the drive down. In the Redwood National Forest there's this place where you can pay $5 to drive through a tree. Worth $5? I don't know, but it was pretty cool to see.

From our trip to Utah. I love the little planes that you can walk in and out of. I don't think I will once the babies are born and Erik and I are each holding a baby while trying to corral Reid, but for now it makes me feel like Jackie O.
Erik took this shot of the Salt Lake City temple. I love that city, and the temple always manages to take my breath away. I love walking around Temple Square, seeing the sights, and feeling so grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In a special way, being near a temple always feels like home.
Another picture of enjoying a cool mexican restaurant in Midway. Erik's taking the picture, Reid has his eyes half closed, and Annie has a face full of food. Awesome. It was such a fun trip to be with family, Thanks Mom and Dad!

So, that's what we're up to. I intend to post a little more regularly, with little snippets of life here on the central coast and in the Olsen home. We're only about 3 months away from the arrival of our sweet baby boys, so things won't be settled for long. But that's okay. I like things to be a little crazy. As if you didn't know that already.

Redwood National Forest

Last week we spent a day strolling through the big trees of Northern California as we worked our way south to Sacramento. There certainly are some big trees!

Ode To Dad's Fort

Back in circa '82, there was a fort and it was new,

Back behind our house it stood, it was made of mostly wood.

The fort was built there by my Dad, what a talent for building that he had.

For more than 25 years have now passed, but that fantastic fort still stands at last!

A little bit smaller it seems to me, but three feet taller now I must be.

The trees are now all overgrown, and a little more wear the fort has shown.

It just shows our Dad is an amazing dude, with strong character and 'fort'itude!

By Erik

Everett home visited by Erik and Emily and Reid on 26 July 2008.

Coming out of our ears

News that is. News is coming out of our ears. Things are changing at a very rapid pace lately. Let's break it down.

1. The news I'm most excited to share is that we went to Anchorage on Wednesday for an appointment with a specialist, a perinatologist. We found out at 10 weeks that we were having twins, and since then we've had 4 or 5 ultrasounds, all showing that the babies are in one amniotic sac and share one placenta. That makes them "mono/mono" twins if you want to wikipedia it, but the bottom line is that it's the riskiest kind of twins you can have...well, second to conjoined twins. The mortality rate for mono/mono twins is 50% and they frequently elect to deliver them early, like at 32 weeks or so, because of the risk of entanglement (which is the cords wrapping and kinking on each other). Basically, it's no good. On Tuesday night I asked our good friend Ben Borrego to come over and be there when Erik gave me a blessing. The two of them gave me a blessing and I felt very peaceful about the appointment. Well, on Wednesday we very clearly saw a division between the babies...meaning there is membrane between the two...meaning they are in their own sac! This is incredible news for us. This means that the entanglement risk is gone, and depending on how the babies grow (if there is any complications of Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome or not, wiki that one too if you're interested) I may be able to carry them until 37 weeks or so. I had prepared myself for very small babies and lots of hospital time, and while we're not out of trouble just yet, things are looking so much brighter. For me, it was a miracle and an answer to many, many prayers to see that they are in separate sacs. I'm just elated.



2. On Friday and Monday the packers came and boxed everything up, they loaded the truck on Tuesday, and Wednesday morning we signed out of our house. It all happened so fast, but amazingly everything has gone very smoothly. We stayed up until 2 am cleaning to be ready for our housing inspection, because we couldn't really start cleaning until after the packers moved everything out (actually, until after we got Reid to bed). We put a lot of work and elbow grease into it, and the inspection went a little something like this: they walked around, pulled out the fridge and made sure it wasn't gross back there, and then said when we're ready we can sign the papers. I was so jazzed that it went so well, but I actually wanted her to praise me, profusely, for the stellar cleaning job that I had done. Especially the stove/oven. You should have seen how sparkling clean that thing was. Oh well. It's done. That's good enough. I guess.



3. This morning we fly out of Alaska for good. We've been here for three really wonderful years, and it's hard to believe that it's already over. I'm all nostalgic about my cherished Alaskan memories lately, but I think it has a lot to do with the fact that the summers are so gorgeous. I'm glad we're leaving on a high note. If we were leaving in January or February, I don't think I would be so nostalgic.



4. We're still on the hunt for a house. We've done a LOT of looking online, but hope to meet with a realtor soon after we get to CA and start making something happen. I can't wait to get settled. I've got a crazy nesting instinct lately, but no nest. This little mama bird needs a nest for all her babies. We'll be on the road until next Friday, so catch us on the cell phone for a chat.



5. So, today is the day. The day we leave Alaska. I've really loved it here, it's been a wonderful home for Erik and I to grow together as a family. We've met some lifelong friends that I pretty much regard as family now. Being away from my own family was hard, but we were really blessed with the right friends, right when we needed them. Ah, I am getting all nostalgic. I think I feel a certain Green Day song coming on. No, wait...it's a Sarah McLachlan song. I think you know the one.

The Olsen twins

Our newest news is that our identical twins are little boys. So, while we can't name them Mary-Kate and Ashley, we're consoling ourselves by referring to our as-yet unnamed boys as Rod and Todd. Yes, I know that the Flanders boys weren't twins, but they have such great names.

My hike to Denali, Part II

The squiggly road below is Eielson Visitors Center, mile 65. The view is from our hike above. Click on the picture for a larger shot of this panoramic view.
A shot for posterity.
Just a snapshot of my journey into the wild.
This guy was just swaggering down the road beside the bus like it was no one's business.